Princess for Hire by Lindsey Leavitt

Description: When Desi Bascomb gets discovered by the elite Facade Agency–royalty surrogates extraordinaire–her life goes from glamour-starved to spectacular in a blink. As her new agent, Meredith, explains, Desi has a rare magical ability: when she applies the ancient Egyptian formula “Royal Rouge,” she can transform temporarily into the exact lookalike of any princess who needs her subbing services. Dream come true, right? Well, Desi soon discovers that subbing involves a lot more than wearing a tiara and waving at cameras. Like, what do you do when a bullying older sister puts you on a heinous crash diet? Or when the tribal villagers gather to watch you perform a ceremonial dance you don’t know? Or when a princess’s conflicted sweetheart shows up to break things off–and you know she would want you to change his mind? In this hilarious series debut, one girl’s dream of glamour transforms into something bigger: the desire to make a positive impact. And an impact Desi makes, one royal fiasco at a time. 

Epic Wins:

• Desi- This girl could snark. She reminds me of one of the coolest friends I’ve ever had. It’s scary how a like they are.
• The Concept- The magic is based in ancient Egypt and hippos (don’t ask me how, it’s one of those things you just have to read). I love the magical feel it has to it. Princesses + Magic = an amazing story about a normal girl with extraordinary power.
• The Funny- Desi has snark and it emanates from ever page. I couldn’t stop laughing at her thoughts.
• Desi and her shirts- She makes her own shirts with witty and often ironic sayings on them.
• The way Desi is determined to make a difference in the princesses’ lives is brave and sweet. It becomes an obsession that does some good. 
• Technomagic- Seriously? How does one meld such different things into one awesome concept? Technology + Magic= one seriously wicked phone.
• Being a princess takes Desi on an adventure, one that opens her eyes and teaches her about herself.
• Reed- He’s only mentioned for like a nanosecond but that was enough to get my attention.

Epic Fails:

• Hayden- Clueless guy syndrome
• Celeste- The girl Hayden is dating. She’s nasty, vile, and bitter.

Overall: Hilarity with a hint of royalty and a dash of life lessons learned, mix well. 

Adieu, 

Kare

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Description:  Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew--just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn't seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she's coming to terms with her father's death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road--diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards--this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself.

Epic Wins:

• Amy- When I picked this book up I was expecting a fun summer romance, sure I got that but what I also go was a girl who was grieving. I love when characters have to work out internal problems! (That sounded better in my head) What I mean is that I love how they change, how their mind turns and how they see the flaw in how they thought. It made Amy more realistic for me.  
• Roger- I found a lot of commonalities between Roger and I, which was just weird. Usually I connect with the main character better but not this time. One of them was his love for peanut butter. There were other things I just don’t feel like remembering them.
• This book was dimensional. It had these awesome pictures of menus, receipts, and other memorabilia they collected along their trip. These were from REAL places, it makes it more realistic when you see an actual menu or receipt.
• The Playlists- Awesome songs + doodles + giggles via aka names. These lists made me laugh and became yet another dimension to this book.
• They could easily have called this Hilary and Edmonds epic detour. *giggles*
• You can’t ignore the fascinating people they meet along the way and the places they go. Each person teaches Amy and Roger something along the way as they help patch the brokenness they both hold onto. But most importantly they teach each other.
• Amy’s obsession with musicals- I love musicals and recognized a few along the way.
• There is, simply stated, nothing like this book.
• The flip- And by the flip I mean the way Amy gave us the present and the past in fluttered bits. 

Epic Fails:

• Sex- Never details but implied.

Overall: THIS. I love this. Summer + Boy + Girl + Baggage + Music + The Open Road = The perfect summer read.